Mobile structures may be useful for providing shelter in a plurality of disparate locations, such as in various environments, with the ability to move between said locations and function therein. Expandable mobile structures offer the ability to reduce the size of the mobile structure in certain configurations, such as for travel between locations.
In locations in which utilities such as power and water are available, it is advantageous for the mobile structure to be adapted to connect to such utilities as needed. It is also advantageous for a mobile structure to be self-sufficient and to have the ability to operate in the absence of such utilities. However, devices which allow for self-sufficient operation in the absence of available utilities, at least in terms of power usage and environmental modification such as air conditioning or heating, tend to be limited in their operational ability as compared to those which freely use public utilities. For example, while solar panels may allow for generation of power for electricity, their ability to supply said electricity for use by a structure are limited by the amount of sunlight available, as well as the quantity of power that may be stored when compared to the convenience of being connected to a public utility power supply, which essentially offers unlimited power. This generally results in a mobile structure connected to public utilities having the ability to use a greater amount of resources than one which is operating in the absence of public utilities.
The unique device described herein provides an expandable mobile structure capable of operating in both the presence of public utilities (i.e. “on-grid”) as well as in the absence of such utilities (i.e. “off-grid”), while functionally interconnecting the manipulation of structure itself, such as changes in the size of the structure itself, to the switching between on-grid and off-grid functionality. By doing so, a mobile structure is provided which may take a first configuration, such as an expanded configuration, and may operate in an on-grid mode, thereby taking advantage of available utilities, which may essentially be unlimited, and may also take on a second configuration, such as a retracted configuration, which may operate in an off-grid mode. In a retracted configuration, the structure includes less interior space, thereby requiring the consuming less resources, such as for environmental modification, when such resources may be limited by the nature of off-grid technology.